The presentation on Thursday 3rd March 2011 marked the conclusion of a very successful appeal to raise £20,000 for Hearing Dogs Deaf People and St John Ambulance. The handover took place the organisations brand new and very impressive local HQ at St John House, Woodland Business Park, Bristol Road, Bridgwater. The Provincial Grand Master accompanied by Mrs Catherine Nelson and supported by thirty five brethren representing every Mark and Royal Ark Mariner Lodge in the Province. Click image to view galleryFull report and photos.pdf of PGMs speech.

This was how the appeal was launched at the Provincial Meeting in 2009

The Provincial Grand Master’s appeal will benefit two Somerset Charities, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and the City of Wells St John Ambulance. It may well be remembered that in the year 2000 on a particularly sunny afternoon in Wells and following Evensong at the Cathedral, the Mark Master Masons of Somerset, headed by the then Provincial Grand Master Tony Hick, presented a new Crusader Ambulance to St. John, City of Wells Division. The Ambulance was part of a donation of 40 such vehicles donated by the Mark Benevolent Fund throughout England; the gift was valued in excess of £2million. It is the wish of our present PGM David Nelson that his Project Fund will provide sufficient funds to purchase an ECG Monitor to turn our Crusader into a Paramedic Ambulance. The second project will be the Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. It is hoped to purchase two dogs and sponsor their training, thus enabling an improvement in the quality of life for two disabled Somerset people...Pat Morissey

. Ian Abraham, Kevin Penny and Andrew Scott the Wells Ambulance crew with their Mark Wells City Ambulance and Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, Linda and Mike Sullivan with Flint.

Target of £20,000 achieved on 29th November 2010.Other articles linked with the appeal.